Notation Express for Dorico 5 information

Updated October 24, 2023

Thank you for using Notation Express or Notation Express XL for Dorico!

We are very excited to announce the immediate release of Notation Express and Notation Express XL for Dorico 5!

More buttons, more features, more fresh

Notation Express for Dorico 5 adds support for some features introduced in Dorico 4 and Dorico 5. There is a new folder dedicated to voices, both profiles see additional buttons in most areas, and the XL profile gains support for Insert scopes, Play mode tracks, and layout enhancements, among other improvements. Many icons have also been refreshed, and the profile has been subtly re-organized in certain areas.

The new Voices and Insert folder in Notation Express XL for Dorico 5

What's new in Notation Express for Dorico 5

The main page for Notation Express XL for Dorico 5
  • The main screen folders now have red borders (previously, only subfolders had red borders)
  • The popover icons have been refreshed
  • Many other icons have been refreshed, and command names updated, especially in the Formatting folder
Some of the updated popovers in Notation Express for Dorico 5
The updated Playback and Navigation folder in Notation Express XL for Dorico 5

Voices and Insert (new folder)

  • Starts Voice
  • Ends Voice Immediately
  • Ends Voice After Barline
  • Change to Upstem Voice 1
  • Change to Downstem Voice 1
  • Change to Upstem Voice 2
  • Change to Downstem Voice 2
  • Change to Upstem Voice 3
  • Change to Downstem Voice 3
  • Change to Upstem Voice 4
  • Change to Downstem Voice 4
  • Add Slashed Voice
  • Swap Voice Order
  • Change to Previous Voice
  • Change to Next Voice
  • Default Stems Up
  • Default Stems Down
  • Other voice-related buttons copied from Modify and Arrange folder
  • Insert mode scopes:
    • Voice
    • Player
    • Global
    • Global Adjustment of Current Bar

Playback & Navigation

  • Tempo track
  • Marker track
  • Chords track
  • Fixed/Follow Tempo
  • Scrub Playback
  • Decrease Key Editor Grid Resolution
  • Increase Key Editor Grid Resolution
  • Suppress playback (this is the same as Mute in Noteheads & Harmonics)
  • Unsuppress playback (this is the same as Unmute in Noteheads & Harmonics)

Formatting

  • Insert Music Frame
  • Insert Text Frame
  • Insert Graphics Frame
  • Lock Layout
  • Unlock Layout
  • Move to Previous System
  • Move to Next System
  • Insert Frame Break renamed to Create Frame Break
  • Insert System Break renamed to Create System Break

Articulations

  • Stressed
  • Unstressed
  • Copy Articulations
  • Paste Articulations

Clefs

  • Percussion 2 (rectangular)
  • After Grace Notes
  • Reset Clef Position
  • Hide

Bars, Barlines, Brackets, Repeats

  • Create Numbered Bar Region

Beaming and Tremolos

  • Z on Stem (Buzz)
  • Tremolo with Attack
  • Tremolo with Release

Filters

  • Repeat Endings

Notes > More Notes

  • Input pitch: Sounding/Written

Modify and Arrange

  • Split Flow
  • Trim Flow
The updated Formatting folder in Notation Express XL for Dorico 5

 

 

The new Voices folder in Notation Express for Dorico 5

Voices (new folder)

  • Change to Upstem Voice 1
  • Change to Downstem Voice 1
  • Change to Upstem Voice 2
  • Change to Downstem Voice 2
  • Merge to Downstem Voice 1
  • Swap Voice Order
  • Change to Previous Voice
  • Change to Next Voice
  • The Delete Upstem Voice 1, Delete Downstem Voice 1, Delete Upstem Voice 2, Delete Downstem Voice 2, and Merge to Upstem Voice 1 buttons have been moved here from the Modify and Arrange folder

The Tempo and System Text and Staff Text folders have been moved into one new main-level Text folder, and the following buttons added:

  • Curly left apostrophe
  • Curly right apostrophe
  • Curly open quote
  • Curly closed quote
  • Em dash
  • En dash
  • Letters with diacriticals: é, è, ç, ñ, ô, ü

Modify and Arrange

  • Normal/Cue Size
  • Hide stems
  • Show stems
  • Slide left
  • Slide right

Articulations

  • Copy Articulations
  • Paste Articulations
  • A new More subfolder has been added, containing:
    • Plop
    • Doit
    • Scoop
    • Fall
    • Lift (wavy)
    • Plop (wavy)
    • Doit (wavy)
    • Remove jazz articulations
    • Stressed
    • Unstressed
    • Long fermata, Short fermata, and Staccatissimo are moved here
    • Copy Articulations and Paste Articulations are duplicated here
The new More Articulations subfolder in Notation Express for Dorico 5

 

Update path

Notation Express / Notation Express XL for Dorico 5 is a paid update for existing users of Notation Express / Notation Express XL for Dorico 4, as follows:

If you purchased the NE/NEXL bundle for Dorico 4, you are eligible for the same update pricing as above; there is no further discount, but you are not obligated to purchase both updated products (you may update separately if you like).

Anyone who purchased Notation Express or Notation Express XL for Dorico 4 on or after August 1, 2023 will receive a free update to the product that they purchased.

If you have Notation Express or Notation Express XL for Dorico 3.5 or earlier, but not the version for Dorico 4, there is no discount available for Notation Express / Notation Express XL for Dorico 5; regular pricing applies.

Get the update

  1. Simply go to the Notation Express for Dorico or Notation Express XL for Dorico product page, and add the product to your cart.
  2. If you previously bought the NE/NEXL bundle for Dorico 4, you will need to purchase each update separately to receive the discount (i.e., do not purchase the bundle for Dorico 5).
  3. Ensure that you are logged into your Notation Central account, so that the correct discounted pricing is applied. (Please be aware that when you add the product to your cart, the discount will not be immediately reflected, but will appear once you begin the checkout process.)
  4. Purchase Notation Express, read the documentation or watch the installation video for the quick and easy setup instructions.
  5. Enjoy Notation Express!

Please consult the documentation carefully for installation instructions, or watch this video.

If you are upgrading from Notation Express / Notation Express XL for Dorico 4, you do not need to uninstall and reinstall the Notation Express plugin.

You should, however, remove the profile for Notation Express for Dorico 4, Notation Express for Dorico 3.5, and any other versions of the Notation Express profile that you may have, although if you have made any customizations to it, you may wish to make note of your customizations for reference before you remove it.

Still on Dorico Pro 4, or have Dorico Elements 4 or 5?

Notation Express is built for the latest version of Dorico Pro 5. We believe that it will work with Dorico Pro 4, as well as with Dorico Elements 4 and 5, but any features not present in these versions of Dorico will naturally be inoperative. Therefore, we do not officially support use of Notation Express in any version except for Dorico Pro 5.

Have Notation Express for Dorico 3.5 or earlier? Here’s what’s new

Notation Express for Dorico 4 was completely rebuilt. Every button was been re-programmed to take advantage of Dorico 4’s ability to receive commands directly from Stream Deck, instead of relying upon a custom key command profile as the intermediary.

What does this mean?

You may have noticed that earlier versions of Notation Express installed a custom key command (shortcut) profile. In Dorico 4 it is no longer necessary to rely on these commands.

This is a major change for the following reasons:

  • Reclaim your shortcuts – You can now reclaim all of the keyboard shortcuts for your own use, as you like, without them being reserved by Notation Express
  • Cross-platform support – One Notation Express profile works for both Mac and Windows, so you can use the same profile on both operating systems (no need to purchase separate versions)
  • Multi-language support – Notation Express is now supported in all languages, so you don’t need to switch to English to use it in Dorico (the icon labels will still only be in English, for now)
  • Faster – The direct connection to Dorico makes Notation Express significantly more responsive, because it passes commands directly to Dorico instead of invoking a series of macros that may involve opening and typing into a popover, for example
  • Control Dorico in the background – The direct connection to Dorico means that you can use your Stream Deck to control Dorico even when another application is running in the foreground

Thank you again for using Notation Express!